Machinery



(No Model.) 4 sheets-sheet 1.

, E. W. SERRELL, Jr.

SILK REELING MAGHINBRY.

No. 406,598. Patented July 9, 1889.

Mwuwf N. Prmu Pmumchugnpnsn wasningm. u4 c4 (No Model.)4 4 Sheets-Sheet 3. E. W. SERRELL, Jr. SILK RBELING MACHINERY.

No. 406,598. Patented July 9, 1889.

(No Model.)

' 4 sheetssheet 4. E. W. SERRELL, Jr. SILK REELING MACHINERY.

No. 408,588. Patented .my 9, 1889.

N. verses mwumogmher, w-mgm 0.a

UNITED STATES EDWARD W. sERRnLL, JR., oF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PATENT GFFICE.y

SILK-REELING MACHINERY.

SPECIFICATION forming 'part of `Letters Patent No. 406,598, dated July S2, 1889.

Application filed April 25, 1884:l Serial No.129,196. (No model.) Patented in France February 25, 1882, No. 147,624; in Sweden March 2l, 1882; in Italy March 23, 1882; in Germany March 28,1882, No. 19,885; in Austria-Hungary May 17, 1882. No. 10,629; in Portugal June 30, 1882, and in Spain September 26,1882.

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD WILLIAM SERRELL, J r., of the city, county, and State of New York, a citizen of the United States, temporarily residing in Chabenil, in the Department of the Drme, Republic of France, have invented an Improvement in Silk-Reeling Machinery, of which the following is a specifcation.

Letters Patent for this invention have been granted in the following countries: France, No. 147,624, deposited February 25, 1882, granted May 9, 1882 Austria-Hungary, granted May 17, 1882, No. 10,629; German Empire, dated March 28, 1882, No. 19,885, and in Italy, dated March 28,1882; in Spain, dated September 26, 1882 5 in Sweden, dated March 21, 1882, and in Portugal, dated June 30,1882.

In Letters Patent No. 141,083, granted to me in France March 30, 1881, a device called a seregraph is described, the same consisting of two drums of different diameters and driven at the same speed, around, which a thread of silk is passed and led off around a pulley. The drums being of different diameters, the larger drum draws the iilament or thread more rapidly over the pulley than the smaller drum supplies the thread to such pulley, thereby the thread is stretched to the extent of the differencefin the circumferential measurements. A silk thread that is fine stretches under less strain than one which is coarser; hence a scale or indicator acted upon by the pulley shows the difference in the strain upon the filament and indicates the relative sizes of the thread or of the part of such thread which is being acted upon.

My present invention consists of improvements by which I avail myself of the same principle and mode of operation in the reeling of silk from the cocoons.

The filament from a cocoon is coarsest at the outer end andbecomes iiner toward the inner end; hence in the reeling of silk from cocoons it is usual for the operatorto add a fresh iilament from time to time to the thread being reeled, in order that the thread, which i is composed of a number of such filaments,

may be of about avuniform size and strength. The operation requires very close attention and great experience on the part of the operator. It is found in practice that the threads produced are very irregular in size .and strength, and hence the fabric made from such threads is not uniform in quality.

The object of Iny invention is to gage the thread during the reeling, and to automatically supply to it as it is reeled additional filaments as it becomes weaker in conse-l quence of a cocoon becoming exhausted or of 6o the diminution in the size of the filaments, so

that I am enabled to maintain the'greatest possible uniformity in size and strengthof the thread as reeled.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side View, 65

partly in sectionof my silk-reeling machine.

The floor upon which the apparatus rests is also in section. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the frame, reel, and adjacent parts. Fig. 8 is a plan of a portion of the table, the water-basin, 7o

a pair of cocoon-holders', feeding-drums, and filament-attaching devices, ,and the pulleys and belts for rotating the drums and filament-attaching devices. Fig. Ltis an elevation of the electro-magnet and its connected 75 the electric devices and connections of the apparatus. Fig. 9 illustrates how the croisure is made, and Fig. 10 is a section of VtheI iilament-attaching device.

In practice I prefer to wind two threads' upon the same reel, and for this purpose I 9o employ two cocoon-holders and two sets of apparatus in conjunction with each basin and with one reel; but as these` are similar I herein describe but one, and I remark that usually there are several basins side by side, each being provided with two sets of devices, as aforesaid, and that the reels for each set of devices are in a frame common to all, with but one driving-shaft to rotate all the reels.

The pulley A is revolved by any suitable Ico Fig. 7 is a sec- 8o the reel and reel-shaft.

power and transmits motion to the frictionwheel a, both being made fast to the same shaft n.. The friction-wheel ct in turn sets in mtin the friction-wheel b, which is im movably fixed to the shaft of the reel B. The reel B is thus put in motion. There is also fixed upon the shaft of the reel B a grooved pulleyc, and this latter also revolves with Around the grooved pulley c passes the endless cord or drivingbelt d d d, and this latter, guided by the guide-pulleys e e e2 e4, passes around the pulley ci", Figs. 5 and G, fixed upon a shaft, to

which the drum D is Valso fixed. This shaft-v is supported by the standard S3. It will therefore be evident that the drum D is made to revolve at the same time as the reel B.

For the sake of convenience to the operative I prefer to cause the cord CZ d d to pass under the floor in its path between the pulley e3 and the grooved pulley c.

From the preceding description it is plain that by means of the cord d or equivalent means of transmission the drum D may be made to revolve with a speed which will always be in any desired proportion to the speed of the reel B. Now, the respective diameters of the grooved pulley c, which is on the reel-shaft, and the pulley e3, which is on the shaft of the drum D, are such that when the apparatus is in motion the drum D will have a peripheral speed about yfive per cent. slower than the winding speed of the reel B.

As will hereinafter be more fully explained, the thread in being reeled passes first around VUthe drumYY/D, and Ythence to the reel B, and

because the winding speed of the reel B isgreater than the peripheral speed of the drum D the thread is stretched by a percentage or ixed proportion of its length. The effect of this disposition is that the drum D acts as one pulley and the reel B as the other of the two pulleys or drums set forth in the specification of my invention, called the seregraph, to which reference has been made.

Above the basin E there is fixed a small `hollow cylinder t', which is continually revolved at a great speed while the reel B is running. This cylinder 7,' is furnished with projecting Vhooks for catching filaments, and is as a whole a device for attaching additional cocoon filaments to the running thread whenever such filaments are presented by the automatic parts of the machine in the manner to be further explained. This cocoonattaching device is not of itself claimed herein as my invention. It usually contains a perforated agate, through which the running thread passes. I prefer to cause the cylinder 1I to revolve by the means indicated in Fig. l, and more clearly shown in Figs. 5 and G. The cylinder t' is carried by the support S in such a manner as to be free to revolve, and a portion of its exterior is grooved, so as to serve as a pulley, around which passes the cord d.

As heretofore set forth, the cord d, which givesrmotion to the drum D, passes over guide-pulleys e e e2v e4, I iix the guide-pulleys e4 upon a shaft z, which is free to revolve and is sustained by the support S3, and to each extremity of the shaft z, l fix a pulley e5. The pulleys e4 e5 will therefore revolve when the reel isin motion in consequence of the cord d passing over the pulley e4, and motion is given to the cylinderz' by means of the belt d.

Within the cylinder t' an agate may be secured, as at f7, said agate being perforated to allow for the passage of the thread. n Y

A shaft J is fixed at any convenient point, but preferably below the door of the filature, and this shaft is kept in constant revolution by the motive power of the establishment.

I have shown the belt m passing around pulleys on the shafts n and J as the means for revolving this shaft J. This shaft J serves to give movement to the automatic filament supplying `devices in a manner hereinafter described.

The parts of the machine that are driven by the belt d are in constant movement while the reel is running, and the shafts J and n and the friction-Wheel a are kept in constant revolution, irrespective of the stoppages of the reel B. f

The shaft J has rigidly attached to it a ratchet-wheel Z, which is in constant revolution, as aforesaid, and .around this ratchetwheel there is a cam-case o, which is loose upon the shaft J and so disposed as to turn coneentrically with it when the pawl p engages with the ratchet-wheel l. Th'e'icamcase o has attached to it on one side a cam q, (shown by dot-ted lines,) and there is a lever I `free to swing upon the pivot m. 4

The spring T, Fig. '7, draws the lever I against the cam q by means of the chaint and bar t. The disposition of the parts and the shape of the cam are such that when the cam-case 0 revolves the lever I oscillates and allowsthe spring T to contract during the first part of the time employed by the revolution of the cam-case o with the shaft .Land then as the cam-case o, with the cam q, finishes its revolution itpresses upon the lever I and restores the parts to the position occupied before the revolution began. Thus when the cam-case beginsto revolve with the shaft J the spring T is allowed to contract, and as the revolution of the cam q is completed the spring T is again extended. Thebar t is attached at opposite ends to the chain t and to the spring T, respectively, and is held in slides, so as to be free to move longitudinally and form part of the connection between the spring T and the lever I, the connection being completed by the chain t.

Attached to the slide-piece t is a pawl 152, which is held against the teeth of the ratchetwheel X by the spring W. The ratchet-wheel `X is rigidly attached to the vertical shaft N.

When the spring T is extended, the end of the pawl't2 rests against one of the teeth of IOO IIO

the ratchet-wheel X, and when the spring T contracts Ait draws with it the bar or slide t and the pawl t2, which causes the ratchetwheel X to advance one tooth. Each succeeding extension of the springT by the lever l, acting through the chain t, causes the pawl t2 to be drawn back in readiness to act upon the succeeding tooth of the ratchet-wheel X. These movements of the camcase o, the cam q and the lever I, the chain t, the slide t', the spring T, Vand the pawl t2, acting on the ratchetwheel X, take place at the same time, but are intermittent and only occur when it is necessary to add a cocoon filament' to the running thread which is being reeled. The manner of determining the proper time for and of causing these movements'will be -hereinafter explained. Y

The vertical shaft N, which is attached to the ratchet-wheel X, passes up through a tube in the basin E, as shown in Fig. G. At the upper end of the shaft N is amagazine or eoeoon-holder H, containing as many compartments as there may be teeth in the ratchetwheel X. This cocoon-holder consists of a lower platform divided into compartments, and of an upper plate or` plates which are somewhat above the level of the hooks of the small cylinder or cocoon-attaching device t'. The position of the magazine H with reference lo the cylinder 7l is such that the hooks upon the latter in revolving pass under the upper plate of the magazine H, so as to engage a co. coon filament when stretched from the cocoon in a lower compartment of the magazine H Above the basin E are two counterweighted levers F F. Thereis a small pulley or roller at the end of each lever nearest the `reel for the running thread to pass around, and the other or tail end of each lever is made with a screw-thread upon a reduced Vand cylindrical portion thereof. The"counter-weights, in the form of nuts, are upon these screw portions of said levers F F', so that by revolving said weights they can be adjusted to their proper positions. Thecounter-weight upon the lever F is to be so positioned that it will tend to cause the end ofl said lever F nearest the reel to rise and close an electric circuit at ci; but the force is not sufiieient to'overcome the pull of the thread, except when said thread falls below the standard size and strength, when itsV pull will be so lessened from the weakness of the thread that Athe weighted short arm of the lever will be sufficient to raise the other end of the lever into contact with c. The weight of the lever F is to be so positioned that the end of the lever nearest the reel tends to fall; but the weight of this long end ofithedeverF' is not sufficient to overcome the Aliftinglaction by the pull of the running threaduntil after the tension has fallen belowA the minimum amount and the lever F `has made contact with c. In other words, the lever F` is to be so balanced that it will make contact with c2 only when a thread breaks or when the thread becomes very weak, arising from thefailure to add cocoon filaments after the lever F has Y closed its electrical circuit at c'.

As will hereinafter be set forth,'the thread in process of reeling acts, in combination with the levers F and F', to regulate the working of the machine. The levers F F are placed in electrical communication with the same pole of the battery B2 or other source of electricity. This is preferably accomplished by arranging the wire-connections as shown in the diagram, Fig. S, in which a wire is represented as passing from the pivot of each lever and connected to a wire from the positive pole of the battery. n t

The electro-magnet G is connected with the contact c. by the wire y and, with the negative pole of the battery by the wire yr. The electro-lnagnet G is connected with the contact c2 by the wire y2 and with the negative pole of the battery by a wire connected to the wire y. The contact-point c is so placed that when the lever F is allowed to rise the current passes through the wirey to the magnetG, and the circuit is completed through the wire y to the battery or source of electricity. Now, the armature r of the magnet G is furnished with a hook which ,engages with the latch-lever S, and when so engaged the latch-lever S presses upon `the tail of the pawl p and keeps the point ofthelatter clear of the ratchetfwheel l, which is constantly revolving with the shaft J, so that the pawl p remains stationary; but when the lever F rises n and completes an electric circuit by touching the contactpoint c', then the electro-magnet-G is excited and attracts its armature r, thus releasing the latclrlever S. The spring w2 now forces the pawl p into a tooth of the revolving ratchet-wheel Z, and as the pawl pis attachedto the cam-case o the latter is forced to make a revolution with the shaft J, thus allowing the spring T to contract and cause a movement of the magazine or cocoon-holder H through the actionV of the pawl t2, as has been described. During the revolution of the cam-'case o the latch-leverS is restored to its place by the spring 'w3 as soon as `it is cleared by the pawl p, and when therevolution of the cam-case o is nearly complete the end of the `latch-lever S again engages with the tail of the pawl p and causes the end ofthe latter to be disengaged from the teeth of the ratchet-wheel Z. The cam-case o then remains at rest until the magnet G is again excited by another closing of the circuit at c by a rising of the lever F.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

-The operative places a cocoon in `each com- IOO IIO

IIS

partment of the cocoon holder or magazine H and leads the filament of each of the cocoons up over the upper plate, attaching them in any convenient manner, as shown in Fig. 6. The filaments of several other cocoons are then passed'through the attaching device or cylinder 1T and united to form the beginning of a thread. The thread thus formed is passed one or more times around the feedingdrum D, so as to secure sufficient adhesion to prevent slipping, and the thread, after making the croisure, is carried over the small pulley at the end of the lever F and under the pulley at the end of the lever F, and thence to the reel B. The croisure is shown in Fig. 9 as formed by passing the thread from one feeding -drum D several times around the thread leading from the other feeding-drum D, or the croisure may be of any known character to consolidate the threads. The counter-weight of the lever F is adjusted by trialto the position required for the size of silk which it is desired to reel, and the reel is allowed to revolve. From the disposition of the parts which has been described it follows that the thread is delivered from the drum D at a speed about five per cent. less than that at which it is-wound in by the reel B. The result is that in the process of winding the thread is uniformly stretched this per centage or a iixed proportion in relation to its length, being the proportional difference in winding speed between the drum D and the reelB. The passing thread thus stretched acts upon the lever F with a force which varies according to the strength of the thread to resist the elongation. Now, the force which is required to stretch a silk thread a given proportion in relation to its length is practically in direct proportion to the sectional area or size of the thread, and from this it follows that the forces tending to depress the lever F, being in proportion to the resistance to elongation are proportional to the size of the thread which is passing at any given moment. The lever F, having been adjusted for the desired size of silk, is held down at the end nearest the reel as long as the passing thread is sufliciently strong, and therefore of the required size; but as soon as the thread becomes too weak the resistance diminishes and the lever F rises and touches the contact-point c. 'An electric circuit is thus closed, and the magnet G attracts its armature, releasing the latch-lever S. The spring' @U2 now causes the pawl 10 to engage with a tooth of the ratchet-wheel Z and the cam-case o begins to make a revolution. This, as has been described, allows the spring T to contract, causing the ratchetwheel X to advance one tooth through the action of the pawl t2. The shaft N revolves with the ratchet-wheel X sufciently to advance the magazine H by one compartment, because the magazine contains the same number of compartments as there are teeth in the ratchet-wheel X. In thus partially revolving the cocoon-holder H brings a cocoon filament within reach of one of the hooks upon the rapidly-revolving cylinder fz'. The filament so brought within reach is seized by the hook, and the revolution of the latter causes the newly-caught filament to be wrapped around those which are already paying out at a point between the lower end of the cylinder t' and the water in the basin E. The filament so wound around the running thread adheres because of the glutinous matter with which heated and wet cocoon iilaments are naturally coated, and becomes attached to and a part of the thread being reeled. The thread, being thus strengthened, is usually of suflicient size, and, in consequence, strong enough to draw down the end of the lever F and break the electric circuit before the cam-case o has completed its revolution with the shaft J.v When this is the case, the lever F no longer touches the contact-point c', and the magnet G not being excited the hook of the armature retains the latch-lever S, and the pawl p being withdrawn from the teeth of the ratchetwheel Z the filament-supplying mechanism comes to rest untilthe thread becoming again weakened the operation is repeated and another cocoon iilament added. Should however, the first cocoon not be sufficient, `or should the cylinder t' fail in seizing and attaching it, then the lever F is not drawn down, the contact remains closed at the point c', and the cam-case o continues to revolve, thus progressively advancing the magazine and causing to be added as many cocoon filaments as may be necessary to bring the thread up to the desired strength and size.

The lever F is used in combination with the magnet Gr', the armature r', the lever S4, the spring U, and the slide-rod V to stop the reel when the thread breaks, and the operation of the device is as follows: As long as the thread is unbroken the lever F is held up and does not touch the contact-point c2; but as soon as the thread breaks the lever F falls and makes contact at the point c2. The electric circuit is' completed through the magnet G and the wires y y2. The magnet G is thus excited and the armature r is attracted, thus releasing the lever s4 and allowing the spring U to lift the friction-wheel b of the reel off of the friction-wheel ct by means of the rod V, lever s, and rod S7. This causes the reel B to stop.

To put the reel in motion, the cord S8 is drawn upon by means of a pedal, or otherwise, which again latches the armature r and moves the lever s6, and this extends the spring U and allows the friction-wheel Z) to bear upon the friction-wheel a, which, as has been said, is constantly in motion.

By means of the above-described mechanism I am enabled to accurately gage the thread while being reeled and to cause the machine to automatically add new cocoon filaments from time to time, as may be necessary to maintain the uniformity of the thread.

IOO

IIO

I claim as my inventionl. The combination, With the filament-attachin g device and means, substantially as set forth for rotating the same, of afeeding-drum around which the thread is passed, a reel upon Which therthread is Wound, means, substantially asset forth, for rotating thev reel and feeding-drum, a regulating-lever operated by Variations in the tensionof the thread, an electro-magnet and its circuit, which includes the regulating-lever, a cocoon-holder, and mechanism, substantially as set forth, that is brought into action by said magnet to rotate thel cocoon-holder, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, with the filament-attaching,` device and means, substantially as set forth, for rotating the same, of. a feedingdrum, a reel upon Which the thread is Wound, means, substantially as set forth, for rotating the reel and feeding-drum so that the reel is revolved at a greater surface speed than that of the feeding-drum, a regulating-lever operated by variations in the tension of the thread, an electro-magnet and a circuit which includes the regulating-lever, a cocoon-holder, and mechanism, substantially as set forth, brought into action by the electro-magnet for rotating the cocoon-holder, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination of a Winding-reel, a feeding-drum, mechanism, substantially as set forth, for rotating the reel and feedingdrum, the former at a greater speed than that of thefeeding-drum, a lever operated by the breaking of the thread, a filament-attaching device, a cocoon-holder, means, substantially as speciiied,for rotating the cocoon-holder and filament-attaching device, an electro-magnet and circuit which includes the aforesaid lever, and mechanism, substantially as set forth, operated by said magnet for disconnecting the reelfrom its driving-Wheel, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4C. The combination, with the electro-magnet G, armature r, lever S, spring w3, and electric circuit for said magnet, of the revolving shaft J, ratchet-Wheel Z, pawl p, spring 102, case o, cam q, and lever I, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination, with the electro-inagnet G, its armature r, its electric circuit, the revolving shaft J, ratchet-Wheel Z, pawl p, case o, cam q, levers I and S, and springs fm2 w3,- of the cocoon-holder, shaft N, ratchet- Wheel X, pawl t2, slide t', spring T, and connection t between the lever I and slide t', substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

Signed by me this 4th day of April, A. D.

EDW. W. SERRELL, JR. Witnesses:

I. P. A. MARTIN, A. GERvAIs. 

